Ji Zining paused for a moment, then forced herself to speak without feeling embarrassed.
"Senior, please don't worry about these details. I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me!"
After speaking, Ji Zining bowed again to the old man, whose back had become hunched over once more.
The hunchbacked old man smiled amusedly.
"Alright, I'll answer your questions. This place is called the Silent Valley because there are no other living beings here besides me."
"Even if other living beings exist, their life force will be devoured by my fallen body."
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Zining a look of understanding.
Silent Valley?
Is that the name of the valley? It's quite fitting.
The entire valley was devoid of any life, and there was a slightly eerie atmosphere about it.
But what kind of power does this old man cultivate? Even though he has already perished, his physical body can still devour the life force of other living beings.
This devouring power must be the same power they felt coming from beneath their feet earlier, right?
With each step taken, some of one's life force is consumed.
Noticing Ji Zining's expression, the hunched old man raised his hand, stopping Ji Zining from asking the question she was about to ask.
"Ask any other questions later. Let me answer your earlier question first."
Seeing this, Ji Zining smiled sullenly.
She had originally wanted to ask the hunchbacked old man what kind of law he was cultivating, but now it seemed she would have to wait.
The hunched old man smiled, shook his head, and continued speaking.
"The second question is, the significance of this great tomb's existence is naturally to bury powerful figures who have already fallen."
"The powerful figure who was truly buried has some connection to you; we were all her followers."
"As for the murals in the passageway, they don't have any special meaning."
"Those are merely the beings we created when we constructed this secret realm, for the purpose of recording them."
Upon hearing this, Ji Zining's expression suddenly hardened.
The powerful being truly buried here is the one inside the main tomb chamber.
That being has some connection to her? What kind of connection?
etc...
Suddenly, Ji Zining remembered the shock Bing Shuang had felt when she saw her.
Or rather, the look of shock on her face when she realized she possessed the Exquisite Immortal Physique.
Amidst that shock, there seemed to be a hint of respect and... awe?
Ji Zining could only think of one possibility regarding the true owner of this large tomb with whom she could have a relationship.
Exquisite Immortal Physique!
The true powerhouse buried in this great tomb may possess Exquisite Immortal Physique!
Throughout history, only the Empress Linglong has ever possessed the Linglong All Heavens and Myriad Realms Exquisite Immortal Physique!
Could it be that the powerful figure buried in this great tomb is Empress Linglong?!
Upon considering this shocking possibility, Ji Zining's mind went completely blank.
The Empress Linglong!
Strictly speaking, he was the first and last powerful being to simultaneously rule over all the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.
Could the tomb of such an unparalleled expert be located in a secret realm within their Heavenly Pride Battlefield?
And this secret realm—was it created by these powerful beings?
In that case, Mo Yang and Chen Luanxing must be the later arrivals.
Seeing Ji Zining's shocked expression, the hunchbacked old man did not show any surprise; on the contrary, he showed a look of relief.
"As expected of the Exquisite Immortal Physique, you can deduce everything you want to know just from my words."
"Her Majesty the Empress would be very pleased to know that she has such a successor."
Upon hearing the hunchbacked old man's words, Ji Zining couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Judging from this, her guess was probably true.
This huge tomb actually contains the remains of Empress Linglong!
"Senior, is the tomb of Empress Linglong, who, like me, possesses Exquisite Immortal Physique?"
The hunchbacked old man nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"Indeed, it is the Empress. However, it is a pity that her remains are not found in this cemetery; only a cenotaph exists."
"But even if it's a cenotaph, if you go into the main burial chamber, you can still obtain some good fortune."
A cenotaph?
No body? Then where did Empress Linglong's body go?
Taking a slight step back, Ji Zining cupped her hands in a respectful greeting to the hunched old man.
"After all this talk, I still haven't had the pleasure of asking your name, senior!"
Upon hearing this, a look of nostalgia appeared in the hunched old man's eyes.
"In the past, they all called me the Heaven-Devouring Devil Emperor, but I still prefer the title bestowed upon me by the Empress."
" Great Emperor Devouring!"
The Heaven-Devouring Devil Emperor!
Great Emperor Devouring!
Ji Zining hardened.
Is he truly a Great Emperor- level expert?
Although she was already fairly certain that the hunchbacked old man was a fallen Great Emperor, she was still somewhat shocked and moved by the confirmation.
When did the Great Emperor become a common cabbage?
How many Great Emperor- level experts has she met in the past few days?
Composing herself, Ji Zining bowed slightly to the hunched old man.
"So it's the Great Emperor Devouring! Zining has been disrespectful!"
The hunched old man waved his hand dismissively.
"It's all in the past now. I'm already dead, so there's no point in saying anything."
"This little fellow is suitable to receive my inheritance. I wonder if you would be willing for him to accept the legacy of this old man?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Zining looked at Lin Shan, who was being stared at by the hunched old man.
Turning her gaze away, Ji Zining shook her head slightly.
"Senior, let's wait until Lin Shan wakes up and tells you about this himself."
"Although I am their divine son, I cannot arbitrarily interfere with their cultivation path."
"The legacy passed down from our predecessors is certainly a valuable thing, but whether or not to accept it is up to him to decide."
The hunchbacked old man nodded approvingly at the Great Emperor Devouring.
"You are indeed a wise ruler; they are truly blessed to follow you."
"Seeing you like this, I'm increasingly convinced you'll be the next Empress."
The next Empress Linglong?
Ji Zining shook her head inwardly.
She doesn't have the energy to rule over all the All Heavens and Myriad Realms; her current goal is simply to break free from her constraints and reach the Great Emperor.
After becoming Great Emperor, no one dared to offend her; that was when she truly lived a carefree and happy life.
Dominate the world?
What a boring goal.
Over the next hour, Ji Zining asked the Great Emperor Devouring many more questions, gaining a deeper understanding of the Empress Linglong and this great tomb.
It turns out that when they created this secret world, they didn't leave any roots, meaning they didn't fix it on a spatial coordinate system.
This creates another problem: this secret realm has been drifting aimlessly in the void, without a fixed location.
The fact that this secret realm has appeared here must be because it has collided with the space of the Heavenly Pride Battlefield and connected with it.
Because the entrance to the collision is unstable, the current rule of opening the passage once every hundred years has been established.
As for the power of the laws cultivated by the Great Emperor Devouring, Ji Zining also discovered it.
The Great Emperor Devouring naturally cultivated the incomparably domineering Law of Devouring!
Devouring heaven and earth, nothing is left uneaten, nothing is left unrefined, seizing the power of creation from heaven and earth and adding it to my own body!
There was another reason why the Great Emperor Devouring chose Lin Shan as his successor: the Great Emperor Devouring himself was a master of physical cultivation.
The power of devouring is mostly used for cultivating and forging the physical body.
According to the Law of Devouring, the stronger the physical body, the greater the devouring power it can unleash.
If the physical body is too weak, excessive absorption by the Law of Devouring will actually cause problems for the body.
In the realm of the Law of Devouring, the physical body is the foundation of everything!
The only thing that still puzzled Ji Zining was the matter of the Empress Linglong's corpse, Great Emperor Devouring had not told her.
Instead, she said that everything would become clear once she reached the main burial chamber.